This post is on the BDSM Activism web board.
| Wed 13 Apr 11, 10:45 AM latexlovers UK(NE), 2 yrs |
I was wondering... When something like the Rihanna S&M song comes along and 'promotes' one thing or another does anyone notice an increase in interest? Are pro-dommes noticing a larger than usual number of new callers? Does traffic increase on this board / more new memberships than usual? Do fetish clubs see more attendees when Christina Aquilera struts her stuff in a new feisty video? Do fetish-wear shops do more business when Katy Perry walks down the red carpet in a new rubber dress? | ||
| 13 Apr 11, 10:49 AM Lady_Anna_Bradford UK(BD), 5 yrs    |
We always have an influx of new callers. It would be impossible to pin it down to anything other than chance or because we have relisted our sites on a certain directory, or because we have launched a new site, or even bought a new toy (Venus 2000 for example). The media doesn't have anything to do with it other than BDSM is everywhere you look if you are hardwired enough to see it.
"If no sexual offence is being committed it seems very odd indeed that there should be an offence for having an image of something which was not an offence," Lord Wallace of Tankerness | ||
| 13 Apr 11, 11:04 AM Fourfiveone UK, 7 yrs |
I'd be surprised if you could accurately find the impact of one song or video, because of the indirect way it relates to things like clubs. A music video featuring fetish imagery may or may not spark an interest in that imagery (or make someone realise they're not alone) but you can't measure that directly. Instead you're measuring later consequences that could be influenced by all sorts of factors. For example, you could have a music video appear that makes rope bondage look really fun. 1000 people are persuaded they might like to try it. However, at the same time a big firm has just gone bust, causing 500 of them, and 500 people who already go to clubs to have very little income. 6 months later, the only thing fetish related in the media is a cop show that makes BDSMers out to be serial killers. But, due to a change in the economy and loads of new jobs being created, the 500 people who used to go to clubs have a big disposable income again, as do the 500 people who developed an interest at the same time as they lost their jobs. Suddenly there's 1000 more people on the club scene, coinciding with a negative portrayal of BDSMers in the media. | ||
| 13 Apr 11, 12:05 PM Lady_Lancashire 23 mths £ |
S&M was alive and kicking long before someone decided to call their band 'The Kinks'. People lacking imagination may be inspired by what they see in the media to try out but those for whom kink has been a part of their psyche since as long as they remember don't need to be spoon fed. The normalisation of fetish through the media will serve to relax people about their own and others' preferences, however, which can only be a good thing. The Red Rose Whispers Of Passion (J o'B R) | ||
| 13 Apr 11, 2:26 PM skyfox UK(EH), 5 yrs   |
It's been shown that lingerie sales go up during a recession. Who knows, maybe fetish activities are similar? I think the economy and a person's financial situation are a primary factor in increased fetish activity, media attention may serve to make people a little more open about it, or to be open about it in certain ways. I don't know, but it'd be interesting to read a study on it. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. | ||
| 16 Apr 11, 12:39 PM Cagoulion UK, 7 yrs |
What it does do is raise awareness, be it "all BDSM people are serial killers" or BDSM from Rhianna on top of the charts, it can be argued that S & M became mainstream as far as advertisers and writers are concerned some time ago. How does this affect the scene? Well the next generation to be interested in BDSM are discovering Rhianna. In a few years (or months) they might pop on the internet to find out more about it. Just the same way that Vampire movies create a new generation of Goths, people absorb culture through the mainstream. It breaks down the taboo of even asking the question and that's a good thing. As a grouping we still see middle aged couples discovering themselves after a lifetime of some element of frustration. People may pick and choose how much to embrace BDSM but certainly it makes the "kinky" choice less of a stigma, particularly for those who have the desires and can't quite understand how to realise them. It is after all very hard to run a story that X is kinky if the public are going to think "so what?"
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| 16 Apr 11, 5:10 PM Empress_Martine UK(HA), 2 yrs £      |
Not really as it tends to be new toys like an american switch cane or new methods in nappy humilation that bring in new clients and not that song. http://empressm7.uboot.com/ http://www.socialkink.com/empressmartine Vampire, pro/lifestyle ts dom and switch. Age play mummy/aunty/AB ,medical play,domestic, energy and outdoor specialist. "Beyond the government,above the police . | ||
| 16 Apr 11, 5:33 PM Sorceror UK(HU), 9 yrs |
There's a line in King Lear when Lear, discovering the Duke of Kent in stocks, says, "Greetings Kent. Maketh you this shame thy sport ?" The only interpretation I can make for this line is that people did use even such instruments of torture as the stocks back in Shakespeare's day - and the practice was widely enough known to use before a general audience. I'm also sure there's a line in Much Ado about Nothing where, I think it's Beatrix, on being teased about being single rejoins that a man with a beard would be rough and uncomfortable in bed whilst a beardless youth would be no use save to dress in her garments and make into her handmaiden. As the part may originally have been played by boy actors no doubt this would have got an extra reaction from the rough sections of the audience. I think BDSM sex has been known of by the vanilla population for a long, long time. I think the vast majority of vanillas know that we are not all serial killers but strongly suspect that those of us who make these activities more than a passing interest are wont to engage in increasingly depraved activities often in (semi) public. To which they'd have a point... I think like male homosexuals our best strategy would be to demand acceptance from the general community whilst discouraging them from considering too deeply exactly what we get up to. S.x.
Edited 16 Apr 11, 5:35 PM by Sorceror |
